


Atonement

by SaltySeasAndBitterTeas



Category: Richard III - Shakespeare
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaltySeasAndBitterTeas/pseuds/SaltySeasAndBitterTeas
Summary: Richard III is dead after the climactic battle and is in Charon’s boat along the river Styx bound for Hades’s palace. There, he has one chance to convince Hades to let him reign again as the living king of England. Surprise, it doesn’t work and Richard is forced to reconcile with himself.
Kudos: 7





	1. Death

Richard Gloucester did not wear death well. He lay sprawled across the boat like a rusted suit of armour, limbs greying and stiff with dried blood. Richard tried to draw breath, but gagged instead. Rolling onto his side, he spat out a fat silver coin that had lodged itself under his tongue. The design was foreign to him. _Where am I_ , he thought.

“Ah, so you’ve finally decided to pay your fare.”

A figure in a ragged cloak stood at the head of the boat, scrutinizing Richard with smouldering eyes of coal.

“My fare? You dare speak that way to the King of England?”

“I have made the same request to generations of kings more significant than you or your pathetic England,” the figure snapped. “I know what you are, Gloucester, and you _will_ pay your dues.”

Richard narrowed his eyes.

“I will deliver payment once you tell me who you are, where I am, and where you are taking me.”

A hush fell over the boat as Richard held his opponent’s gaze in defiance. For a few tense moments, all was quiet save for the gently lapping river. Finally, the fiery-eyed figure broke the silence.

“I’m Charon, ferryman of the Underworld. You’re in my boat along the river Styx bound for Hades’s Palace.” He outstretched his hand. “Now, the coin.”

“You’re taking me directly to Hades himself? What an honour I suppose,” Richard drawled, dropping the coin onto Charon’s open palm. In the depths of Richard’s mind, an audacious idea began to take shape.

As the boat drifted further, a tall, menacing structure came into view. Encircled by a web of rivers, its metallic surface glinted with the light of a thousand candles. Spindly towers protruded from it like a crown of thorns, extending upwards into the unnatural gloom where the sky should have been. Richard furrowed his brows.

“Are there no windows in the Palace of Hades?” he asked.

“No,” Charon replied, “What use are they when there is no view?” He made a sweeping motion with his arms.

“Welcome to the Underworld.”


	2. Rebirth

Hades sat atop a throne of bones.

“Richard the Third, former Duke of Gloucester, late King of England. Your arrival has been long awaited,” Hades proclaimed.

Richard took a deep breath.  _ How do you flatter death?  _

“It’s an honour, O’mighty Hades. Your magnificence puts the heavens to shame.”

“Pretty speech from you rarely bears good tidings for the receiving end.”

“What I ask requires little effort from yours. All I require is time to bid my farewells.”

Hades’s face darkened.

“Richard, I am as old as time itself. I have watched every poet, philosopher, king, and warrior pass through my gates, each more ardent and articulate than the last. I have watched them tangle with the brambles of false praise, split themselves open on the shards of hollow promises. Do you think yourself the first to demand extended life? Do you think yourself more worthy than those who passed and never returned?”

“Begging your pardon,” Richard amended. “That was not my intent.”

“Intentions and actions don’t always coincide so what is the intent behind yours?”

Richard’s mind raced. “M-My closest confidants betrayed me and my throne. They will ruin the country should they bear the crown and I cannot sleep in peace. Please, my cause is just and your heart is fair.”

“How easily you speak of hearts and justness when you possess neither.”

“I gave the first to my lady and the second to my country.”

“Then I shall call upon her testimony!” Hades roared. “Every man, woman, and child you’ve butchered lies under my jurisdiction. You cannot lie to the face of death!” 

For the first time in his life  — or death rather — Richard felt pure terror roil in his gut like a hoard of angry bats. 

“I want to be king again,” he breathed, voice echoing through the hall. “Surely you understand a king’s relationship with his realm.”

“You speak of kings and crowns, but have you ever considered if the crown fits? What have you done to be worthy of it?”

A long pause. 

“I have lead my people in times of hardship. I have protected them from usurpers, I have kept them  _ safe _ .”

Pity flickered in Hades’s eyes. 

“You, Richard, are a creature born of chaos. But you will perish when there are no more battles to be won, no more blood to be spilled, no more patrons to me by your blade. Will you still be king in times of peace?”

“Born of chaos I may be, but said chaos does not stem from me. Others won't accept me unless I reflect the monster they perceive me as.” 

“You cannot blame others for your own faults. If the outside world judges you for your appearance alone, that is on them. But if you do nothing to prove yourself otherwise, that is on you. 

Something broke within Richard as the epiphany struck.  _ I am of my own making _ , he realized. Hades stepped down from the dais and laid a massive hand on Richard’s shoulder. 

“You’re finally understanding,” Hades sighed. “You squandered your life on bloody endeavours, and now you must redeem yourself in the afterlife. Do so and I will consider your reincarnation, otherwise you will remain property of the Underworld.”

And so, in the Palace of Hades, Richard the Third, former Duke of Gloucester and late King of England ultimately found life in death.


End file.
